Lagos Govts Shuts Down Chinese company over Workers Death

The Lagos State Government has stopped the
operation of a Chinese firm, Hongxing Steel Company, saying a visit to
the firm confirmed reports that its Nigerian workers were going through
hell.

This comes after the death of a casual worker ,Mr.Emeka Umoh.He died at
the Lagos General Teaching Hospital following severe burns after
liquefied iron spilled on him on September,23,2015.

Punch had earlier reported that two workers died and many others injured while working in the company.

ADVERTISEMWorkers, who spoke with our correspondent, said their Chinese bosses maltreated them and fired them at will.

They said people were injured and killed in the company on a regular basis due to absence of safety standards.

According to a statement on Thursday by the Head,
Public Relations Unit of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Lola
Jagunmolu,the Lagos State Government said after
investigating the allegations, it discovered that the Chinese firm had
indeed violated safety standards, which led to the tragedies.

The statement by the LSSC said it
discovered during a fact-finding tour that the working conditions of the
workers were deplorable.It said the discoveries led to an order for the company to cease operations.The statement said,

“The Lagos State
Safety Commission has put a stop-work order on Hongxing Steel Company
Limited to stop operations for safety violations.

“The stop order was placed when the
Director General, LSSC, Fouad Oki, and his team went on a fact-finding
tour following the publication in The PUNCH of the death of one Emeka Umoh, a casual worker of the company.

“Speaking on the company’s premises in
Amuwo Odofin, where a safety audit was conducted, Oki described the
working conditions of the workers as deplorable, harsh and totally
unacceptable, adding that there was very little safety measure put in
place.”

It added that an official of the company,
who accepted the stop-work order, promised that the firm would improve
on its standards.

“Uche Eke, the Public Relations Manager
of the company, said the seal order would serve as a wake-up call to the
management of the company in the area of putting proper safety measures
in place, while Jim, the company’s Safety Officer, promised to do step
up in the area of safety.

“A member of staff, who preferred to
remain anonymous, lamented that although the working condition was
harsh, they subjected themselves to it because they had no alternative,”
the statement added.